U.S. Dressage Heads to CDIO5* Hagen

The United States will be well represented by a strong contingent at the CDIO5* Hagen in Hagen, Germany, from July 8-12. Located in western Germany, Hagen hosts top international dressage competition in the big stadium at Hof Kasselmann. The 2015 event will be contested by four dynamic pairs from the U.S.: Shelly Francis and Patricia Stempel’s Doktor, Charlotte Jorst and Kastel Denmark’s Kastel’s Nintendo, Arlene Page and her own Woodstock, and Kathleen Raine and Jennifer Mason, David Wightman, and her own Breanna. Under the guidance of Chef d’Equipe Christine Traurig, this team will look to improve on its Team Bronze medal effort at CDIO5* Rotterdam in The Netherlands three weeks ago. The team has drawn sixth in the order.

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“The horses are looking really good and working really well,” said Traurig. “We have a good draw order for the team and we are pretty happy about that. The venue is beautiful and we are looking forward to have a great week here.”

Francis (Loxahatchee, Fla.) and Doktor, a 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding, are fresh off of solid performances at CDIO5* Rotterdam and CDI5* Aachen in Aachen, Germany. This year, the seasoned pair achieved a second-place finish in both the CDI4* Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special during week seven of the 2015 Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Fla. In addition, they garnered sixth place in the CDIO5* Grand Prix Special at Rotterdam, and in the Grand Prix Freestyle at CDI5* Aachen.

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Jorst (Reno, Nev.) will compete the 12-year-old KWPN stallion, Kastel’s Nintendo, with which she has had consistent success. The duo began the year on the Florida circuit where it finished second in the CDI3* Grand Prix Special and third in the Grand Prix during week five at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. Heading to Europe, Jorst and Kastel’s Nintendo were third in the Grand Prix Special and helped the U.S. to a Team Bronze medal at CDIO5* Rotterdam.

Since 2013, Page (Wellington, Fla.) has successfully competed her 12-year-old KWPN gelding, Woodstock, both at home and abroad. In 2015, the pair had top placings at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in CDI3* Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special competition. Competing against strong international competitors, they finished in sixth place in the CDIO5* Rotterdam Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle.

Raine (Murrieta, Calif.) will represent the U.S. aboard the 15-year-old Hanoverian mare, Breanna. This seasoned team of horse and athlete has been a consistent force in the American dressage scene, beginning with a win in the Six-Year-Old division at the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage National Championships in 2006. Steadily moving up the ranks, Raine and Breanna have had top placings at major competitions at home from Del Mar, Calif., to Wellington, Fla. They began the 2015 season at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival where they were third in the Grand Prix and won the Grand Prix Special in CDI5* competition during week five. Heading to Europe, the pair was fourth in the Grand Prix Special at CDI3* Munchen-Riem, and fifth in Grand Prix and fourth in Grand Prix Freestyle at CDI4* Achleiten.

Jorst will also compete in the CDI1* with Kastel’s Adventure, a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Kastel Denmark. The United States will be represented in the CDI4* by Shelly Francis and Danilo, as well as Arlene Page and Alina. Danilo is an 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Patricia Stempel, and Alina is a 17-year-old Danish mare owned by Page. In CDIU25 competition, Chase Hickok and Sagacious HF and Genay Vaughn and Donarweiss GGF will vie for top honors. Sagacious HF is a 16-year-old Royal Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Hyperion Farm Inc. Donarweiss GGF is a 14-year-old Hanoverian stallion owned by Starr Vaughn. The CDI1* inspection was held this afternoon, and the CDI4* and CDIU25 inspections will take place tomorrow.

CDIO5* competition begins on Thursday, July 9, with the Grand Prix and continues on Saturday with the Grand Prix Special, ending on Sunday with the Grand Prix Freestyle.

Due to personal illness Steffen Peters has withdrawn Legolas 92 from the U.S. team for Nations Cup competition at CDIO5* Aachen . The pair has been replaced on the CDIO5* team by Caroline Roffman and Her Highness O.

The Dutta Corp. U.S. Dressage Team of Shelly Francis and Doktor, Laura Graves and Verdades, Kasey Perry-Glass and Goerklintgaards Dublet, and Steffen Peters and Legolas 92 took the Silver medal in a close Nations Cup competition in Rotterdam Saturday.